The canine

Featured in: B*TCH: The Origin Of The Female Species by Edith Podesta and Doggy Style by Joshua Monten

What to expect: Human performers play dogs in different ways.

In the festival commission, B*TCH: The Origin Of The Female Species, Edith Podesta plays a dog, but not in an animalistic way.

"I don't play a dog, like 'ruff ruff'," says the actor-playwright-director, using her hands to mimic a dog's behaviour. "I speak in a human language, but with a canine appreciation."

BOOK IT / B*TCH: THE ORIGIN OF THE FEMALE SPECIES

WHERE: Esplanade Recital Studio, 1 Esplanade Drive

WHEN: Jan 21 to 23, 8pm

ADMISSION: $22

DOGGY STYLE

WHERE: Esplanade Theatre Studio

WHEN: Jan 20 and 21, 8pm

ADMISSION: $22

For example, she views her owner's (a librarian played by Australian co-actor Helmut Bakaitis) house as a "dead forest". She greets him as a human, but acts unabashedly like a dog would, with hugs and kisses.

The 75-minute work simultaneously relooks the etymology of the word "b*tch" as a derogatory term used on women; at the lines drawn between man and woman and between animal and human.

The Straits Times

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